Discord: The $2 Billion Gamer's Paradise Coming To Terms With Data Thieves, Child Groomers And FBI Investigators

Originally set up as a place for gamers to chat, Discord has become wildly popular, attracting 150 million users and rising to a $2 billion valuation just last month.

But with rapid growth has come disturbing criminal behavior. Thanks to previously unreported court filings, Forbes can reveal that Discord groups dedicated to cybercriminal activity are being investigated by the FBI. The groups are being used by low-level hackers to share stolen data, like usernames and passwords. U.S. cops are also warning about a handful of cases in which the chat app has been adopted by groomers to target children susceptible to online coercion.

A search warrant unearthed by Forbes detailed an FBI investigation in Ohio into a particular Discord group called Hells Gate. It's the first evidence the agency has probed cybercriminal activity on the site.

More disturbing than the rising cybercrime activity are a handful of cases where Discord has been used as the starting point for child grooming.

Forbes found another previously unreported search warrant from 2017, which detailed the case of 22-year-old William Lee Dela Cruz, who was using Discord to contact an unnamed 12-year-old. The government claimed they'd used Discord to discuss, amongst other topics, having sex and masturbating.

The chats came to light after the Jane Doe was reported missing, having disappeared with Dela Cruz in a vehicle, according to the search warrant, which detailed subsequent sexual activity between the pair. Dela Cruz was charged with one count of enticement of a minor and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. (He is yet to face trial. Just last week, the judge in the case ordered that Dela Cruz would be hospitalized for treatment for up to four months, "until his mental condition is so improved that trial may proceed.")

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2019/01/29/discord-the-2-billion-gamers-paradise-coming-to-terms-with-data-thieves-child-groomers-and-fbi-investigators/

>>5012070

Never got paid for it, but I used to be asked to proofread for everyone I worked with that would write newsletters, correspondence, and the like. It was gut-wrenching for me in the late 80s, when teams of employees were formed to serve as low-level "management teams', and we were told to ignore spelling. Didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, you know? I always have and always will correct spelling and grammar of those around me.

No regerts

Venezuela Central Bank Confronts Growing Discontent

As Nicolas Maduro struggles to hold onto power and speculation swirls that the regime is trying plunder Venezuela’s gold reserves, the crisis is also playing out within the halls of the central bank itself: staffers are waging a small mutiny and refusing to sign-off on key bank transactions.

Some staff members received early retirement offers Friday after disregarding orders from upper management, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter. Tensions inside the bank are brewing, as staffers fret about potential repercussions of signing off on certain operations and discontent bubbles over as Venezuela’s economic and political outlook deteriorates.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-01/venezuela-central-bank-is-said-to-confront-growing-discontent

>>5012137

There you go.

>>5012130

Argh! So frustrating, that damn em-dash. I didn't post the original but I was trying to help Baker get a good link. I'd copy, paste it, lean in close to verify it was really two hyphens, and yep, looks good. Hit New Reply, and I'll be damned! Never seen anything like that happen.

>>5012174

KEK!

>>5012217

>>5012228

Picking up the kids, most likely.